The LA Clippers are almost unanimously considered to be the favorite to win the NBA title this season, but that doesn’t mean they won’t be challenged.
In case you weren’t aware, this summer was a big one for the LA Clippers.
After pushing the defending champion Golden State Warriors to six games in the first round of the Western Conference Playoffs, the Clippers entered the offseason feeling hopeful. Without question, the team overachieved during the 2018-2019 season and was set to enter the summer with plenty of cash to spend in perhaps the deepest, most talented free-agent market that had ever been.
Kawhi Leonard was the top prize. With the help of his new teammates up North, Leonard took the Toronto Raptors from being perennial playoff chokers to NBA champions by putting together one of the most dominant postseason performances we’ve seen from any single player.
En route to The Finals, Leonard ripped through the Orlando Magic, Philadelphia 76ers and Milwaukee Bucks, averaging 31.2 points and 8.8 rebounds per game against his Eastern Conference rivals.
He earned his second Finals MVP award against Golden State, finishing them off in six games. In the process, he ended the reign of one of the league’s most dominant teams to date, which had won the NBA Finals in three of the last five seasons and managed a record-breaking 73-win season in 2015-2016.
The Clippers, Raptors and Los Angeles Lakers were all considered potential suitors for Leonard. And for a while there, it seemed as though the Clippers didn’t have a shot at it, despite all the effort the organization had put forth to bring him back home. That included attending games at Scotiabank Arena, where Leonard played his home games in Toronto.
Ultimately, though, LA’s gamble paid off. Leonard agreed to join the Clippers on the condition that they would pair him with Paul George, which the organization managed to do.
The acquisition came at a cost: LA surrendered seven future draft picks (five of which are first-round picks) in addition to Danilo Gallinari and rising star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander in exchange for George, who was an MVP finalist in 2019.
In completing the deal, the Clippers had begun to assemble what would arguably become the league’s deepest and most talented roster. Along with Leonard and George, LA also features fierce defenders in Patrick Beverley and Maurice Harkless, tireless scorers in Lou Williams and Montrezl Harrell and sharpshooters in Landry Shamet and JaMychal Green.
From top to bottom, the Clippers are loaded, and they’re being given the credit they deserve. Virtually every sports media outlet has dubbed LA as the team to beat during the upcoming season, and they’re considered to be the favorite to win the 2020 NBA Finals by most around the league.
That doesn’t mean there won’t be those that stand in the Clippers’ way. Several of the league’s best players joined new teams this offseason, and they also have every intention of hoisting the Larry O’Brien trophy next June.
Now that the regular season is almost upon us, it’s as good a time as ever to evaluate LA’s competition and discover which of the remaining 29 teams will pose the biggest threat to the Clippers’ title aspirations.
We’ll start with a team that has a lot of positives but also has the chance to fracture a long-standing relationship.